Shimon Hayut
Tinder Swindler, romance scammer
Shimon Hayut (born 1988) is an Israeli con artist who became infamous as the 'Tinder Swindler' following his elaborate romance scams conducted primarily through the dating app Tinder. Operating under the alias 'Simon Leviev' and claiming to be the son of a wealthy Israeli diamond magnate, Hayut systematized a sophisticated catfishing operation that targeted women across multiple countries. He would cultivate romantic relationships with victims before manufacturing financial emergencies—typically claiming business rivals were threatening his life—to solicit large sums of money, often in the range of $200,000 to $1 million per victim. His scheme went undetected for years, allowing him to defraud dozens of women across Europe, South America, and other regions. Hayut was eventually arrested in Greece in 2019 and extradited to Israel, where he served time for fraud. His crimes were later documented in the 2022 Netflix documentary 'The Tinder Swindler,' which brought international attention to his case and sparked broader conversations about dating app security, financial fraud, and romance scams in the digital age.
Notable Person
Israeli
1988
Thinking about the name
Shimon
Hebrew origin
“A Hebrew form of Simon, derived from the biblical name meaning 'he has heard' or 'God has heard.' Shimon carries deep religious and cultural significance in Jewish tradition, appearing throughout the Hebrew Bible and Talmud, and represents a name with ancient spiritual roots combined with modern usage in Israeli and diaspora Jewish communities.”